health

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Let The Kids Say "Wii!"

Good news for all the parents out there who are worried about their kids not exercising enough. A new study by researchers at Brigham Young University and University of Massachusetts has shown that kids who play 10 minutes of active videogames, like Wii Boxing or Dance Dance Revolution, get exercise that's just as stimulating as a three-mile walk on a treadmill. This is particularly good for kids who live in cities where playing outside is either dangerous or unpractical. Better still, the kids most at... READ ON

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DanKam: Colorblindness "Corrective Lenses" for Your Smartphone

I'm not colorblind, I'm just "green-weak." At least that's what I tell everyone. I wrote about my color vision problems way back in 2007, explaining my Deuteranomaly, a condition affecting roughly 5 out of every 100 men. There are other forms of colorblindness, but this one is mine. In short, it means that things that other people see as green, I don't -- I see them as brown, or beige, or some other neutral tone. Over the weekend I bought a bunch of glass bottles to put hard cider in. I did not know... READ ON

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Seasons Affect MS Symptoms

At the age of 45, Anne Rowling died from complications of multiple sclerosis (MS). Her daughter, J.K. Rowling, of Harry Potter fame, recently announced she was donating £10 million ($15.4 million) to form a MS and neurodegenerative disease research center at the University of Edinburgh. Scottish people suffer from the disease at a higher rate than others and the disease seems to impact more people living in northern regions. Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital discovered that the seasons impact MS... READ ON

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Are drugstores taking over the world?

A friend named Stacey, who I grew up with, recently snail-mailed me the map you see above. She documented 8.76 miles of Rte 130 in New Jersey, from our hometown of Cinnaminson to Burlington. She also included photos of each of these drugstores on a disc in case I wanted to publish them as proof... as if you all don't know what the fine façade of a CVS looks like. Starting in Cinnaminson and traveling north, we first come to a Shoprite supermarket, with a drugstore inside, followed by a Rite Aid pretty... READ ON

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Quantum Lung

Here at the _floss, we don't usually do product reviews or promote many items other than the goodies we sell in our store. It's just never been part of our brand. And that's a good thing. However, every now and then something comes along that inspires this blogger, at least, to break with our philosophy. Quantum Herbal Product's Lung Formula is just such a product. Ever have a cough you just can't get rid of no matter how many different formulas you try? One of those nagging, unremitting, half-a-year... READ ON

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8 People With "Real" Superpowers

We all dream of having some superpower to help navigate life. For instance, I've always wanted to be able to read peoples' minds. To me, that would be the most awesome of any power one could posses. (Okay, maybe I'm suspicious and neurotic, but hey, everyone also has his kryptonite, right?) Here are eight people who posses some major superpowers. Please note: we're having some fun here in this post. We don't claim that any of these abilities are actually "superpowers" as we've grown... READ ON

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Why Does Sex Make Men Sleepy?

Alfred Kinsey, biologist, pioneering sex researcher and founder of the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University*, once wrote that "a marked quiescence of the total body is the most widely recognized outcome of orgasm," more noticeably among males. Why is... READ ON

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How Scurvy Was Cured, then the Cure Was Lost

Yes, this really happened: scurvy was "cured" as early as 1497, when Vasco de Gama's crew discovered the power of citrus...but this cure was repeatedly lost, forgotten, rediscovered, misconstrued, confused, and just generally messed around with for hundreds of years, despite being a leading killer of seafarers and other explorers. By the 1870s the "citrus cure" was discredited, and for nearly sixty years, scurvy -- despite being cured, with scientific research to back it up -- continued killing people,... READ ON

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Dogs Beat The Gym

If you're looking to lose some weight this year, consider spending some extra cash on adopting a new dog rather than getting a gym membership. A recent study in the UK has shown that dog owners take their pups on walks an average of two times a day for 24 minutes each. Their research also showed that most dog owners also went on a longer walk with their four-legged friends an average of three times a week. All in all, dog owners averaged around eight hours of exercise a week. Their study also showed... READ ON

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7 Historical Bans on Smoking

More and more cities and states around the country are banning smoking in public places, much to the chagrin of smokers. Is this sort of strong, successful anti-smoking movement a new development? Hardly. Opposition to smoking has been around almost as long as smoking itself, and some of the historical measures to curb lighting up might surprise you. 1. The Pope Cracks Down on Smoke Pope Urban VII's papacy began on September 15, 1590. It ended with his death from malaria less than two... READ ON